Safety Lock for Lever Action Firearms

ABSTRACT

A safety lock device for lever action firearms. The safety device has two hardened side plates and transverse hardened pins. The safety lock device must be designed for each specific lever action firearm onto which it is intended to be used in order to insure the most secure fit and the highest confidence in the inability for disabling the device once installed onto the firearm. The combination of the hardened pins and a trigger channel and a separate lever channel for the open lever provide protection against the disabling of the lever action safety lock device.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 11/299,217, entitled “UNIVERSAL FIXED PIN TRIGGER LOCK”, filed on Dec. 9, 2005 by Thomas J. Farchione, for which a notice of allowance was issued Jan. 14, 2008, which is the non-provisional application from provisional application Ser. No. 60/635,128 filed Dec. 10, 2004. This application claims priority from the previous applications for material that is similar but claims priority for any new matter distinct from the subject matter of the previous application and which is being presented by this application.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention pertains to the field of firearm safety lock mechanisms. More particularly, the invention pertains to a safety lock having hardened fixed pins and hardened plates designed to fit only over and around the trigger and the open lever of lever action firearms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Rifle manufacturers might provide some type of safety lock with new firearms to prevent an unauthorized or untrained individual from operating what can become a very dangerous device in the hands of such a person, specifically children. Different lock designs have evolved over time. Cable locks use lengths of cable to extend through the action or barrel of the weapon, thereby preventing usage. Another type of lock is a trigger guard plate lock which uses two “plate” sections that can be locked together from opposite sides over and around the trigger guard. A locking cylinder enables the clamping and tightening of this type of lock over the trigger guard. In certain designs, pins extend from one plate and insertion into holes in the other plate. When stationary pins (i.e., rigid and non-retractable pins) are used, they are located in such a manner as to abut parts of the trigger and trigger guard to hold the plates in a secure position on a particular firearm. There are also retractable pin designs having retractable spring biased pins. In this type of design, the locations of some pins may be blocked by components on the firearm (such as the trigger guard and trigger). Some designs combine the functions of a cable lock and a plate lock into one assembly.

Lever action rifles provide a unique challenge to gun safety lock manufacturers. There are designs that require the opening of the action to insert a transverse locking plate through the receiver, thereby preventing the receiver from accepting a cartridge to be seated in the barrel by locking the receiver in its open position. A design such as this may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,694,659 B2, specifically FIG. 16. However, there are certain drawbacks to this design in that the lever is still able to move a small distance, with the coincidental movement of the receiver, all of which could cause damage to the receiver, the lever action and/or the end of the barrel into which the cartridge must be inserted. Such damage may cause gas to escape during the eventual discharge of the weapon, potentially causing injury to the shooter. There is a need, therefore, to secure the lever not only to prevent movement of the action but to provide a substantial degree of protection to the lever itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The instant device is a firearm safety lock device that is designed specifically for use with lever action rifles, such as the historic Winchester model rifles of the late 19^(th) century. Of course, other manufacturers now produce similar lever action model rifles and the present safety lock device may be utilized with such similar weapons. The present safety lock device consists of an opposing pair of hardened plates located and sized to surround a portion of and secure in place the open lever of a lever action rifle. Each plate is attached to a cover element. The pair of steel plates are provided with interlocking hardened pins and a lock that are positioned around the lever in its fully open position. The pins are arranged not only to secure the lever in the open position, but their hardened construction, specifically a hardened steel alloy, prevents someone from sawing through or otherwise destroying any one or more of the pins to disable the safety lock device.

In the manufacture of the safety lock device, the lever action rifle onto which the device is to be installed must first be measured to insure an accurate fit. Hardened pins are then arranged to insure that the lever remains fixed in an open position. The pins are secured by, for example, force fitting or the like, to one of the pair of plates. Mating holes are then provided in the opposing plate to receive each of the pins when the safety lock device is installed onto the firearm. One end of a conventional shaft type lock is securely installed through the plate and into the cover element that already has the pins secured to it. Similarly, a mating hole is formed in the opposing plate and its cover element so that upon installation, the other end of the lock inserts into its mating hole or cavity in the opposing cover element. The shaft of the lock mechanism progresses through the hole in the opposing plate until the pair of opposing plates are securely in contact with the open lever of the firearm. The hardened plates are designed to extend above, below, forward of and behind the open lever so to prevent a saw or other destructive device from disabling the safety lock device. The present safety lock device for lever action rifles complies with requirements such as those set forth in California Department of Justice AB 106 and ASTM F2369-04.

It is often necessary, in order to comply with many local regulations, or beneficial (from a marketing standpoint) for gun manufacturers and/or the gun retailers to provide a lock that will precisely operate with each specific lever action rifle model produced providing a more secure firearm and lessening the chance that the lock is improperly installed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of the right side of a lever action rifle with the lever safety lock of the invention installed over the open lever.

FIG. 2 shows the same view of FIG. 1 with the right side plate of the lever safety lock removed.

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the right side of the firearm with the right side plate of the lever safety lock removed to show the configuration of the inside face of the left side of the lever safety lock.

FIG. 4 shows a cut away view along line A-A of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the right side of a lever action firearm having the lever safety lock securely installed around the open lever of the firearm.

FIG. 6 shows an isometric break away view of the lever safety lock of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As is best shown in FIG. 6, the safety lock of this invention consists of two halves (a right cover element 100 and a left cover element 200) that are adapted to fit together over and around a lever 20 and a trigger 22 of a lever action firearm 10. The right cover element 100 is formed from a high strength plastic or metallic die cast material. It is separately overmolded to abut a hardened plate 101 and separately overmolded to abut a hardened plate 102. The left cover element 200 is also formed of a high strength plastic or die cast material and overmolds or abuts hardened plate 102. The right and left cover elements are preferably produced from resilient, high strength plastic or die cast alloys. The hardened plates 101 and 102 are preferably made from a hardened metal alloy, such as hardened steel. The right cover 100 and the left cover 200 are formed preferably from a substantially rigid, yet abrasion resistant material, such as a synthetic polymer. One example of such a synthetic polymer is 90 Dura Santoprene®. Synthetic polymers that exhibit these properties provide for the positional integrity of the various individual components of the safety lock while not being sufficiently abrasive to scratch or otherwise mar the various surfaces of the firearm with which it comes into contact. Such surfaces include the trigger 22, the lever 20, and the right side 24 and left side 26 of receiver 21 (Please refer to FIGS. 1-5).

A locking means is used to non-permanently secure the 2 cover plates to each other. This locking means may consist of conventional locking devices, such as, for example, ratchet locks, “T” headed locks installed on the end of a shaft, cam locks, plunger locks, such as those that are spring loaded. This list is merely exemplary and is not intended to limit the type of lock that may be used with the safety lock of the invention. The most preferred embodiment of the locking means is shown in FIG. 6. Herein, a locking element 300 secures the right cover element 100 to the left cover element 200, including the other plate elements listed above, to lock the lever action firearm 10 in an open lever position. The locking element 300 consists of a post 302 which extends from one side of the safety lock device to the other side. As shown in FIG. 6, the first end of the ratchet post 302 begins from hole 301 in the left cover element 200 and traverses through the other elements. A “T” shaped end 304 is formed to the second end of the post 302 and traverses through a locking engagement hole 306 in right cover plate 101. It finally inserts within locking engagement cavity 310 in the right cover element 100. A key (not shown) operatively engages a key slot in the second end of the ratchet post 302. A protective cover 314, made of hardened steel is installed over the locking engagement cavity 310. Seal 312 to keep contaminants from entering the locking engagement cavity 310.

In the embodiments illustrated, a plurality of pins 400 extend from left cover element 200 through the left hardened plate 102, right hardened plate 101, into holes or pin receivers 402 of cover 100 (not shown). It should be readily understood that the features described with respect to the left and right protective plates and left and right side elements may be reversed at the discretion of the manufacturer and would not represent a patentably distinct embodiment of the invention.

Pins 400 are advantageous elements in order to insure the mechanical integrity of the firearm safety device as they are relatively easy to manufacture and are uncomplicated enough to make so that tolerances can be designed into them to permit as tight or lose a fit into pin receivers 402 as desired. Ease of assembly and the inability to disable the safety lock once installed on the firearm are prime considerations. A key advantage of using hardened pins over hardened metal plates, whether the plates are placed horizontal or vertical to the axis of the locking device, is that the pins take up minimal space and provide for a lighter overall weight for the locking device. For example, if the diameters of all pins used in the safety lock device were calculated, they would make up less than 10% of the surface area of any one of the cover elements 100 or 200.

The safety lock device is installed such that the axes of its pins 400 are transverse to the axis of the barrel of the firearm. As best shown in FIG. 6, a lever channel 220 is formed in the left cover 200 are of sufficient depth to entirely seat the lever 20 in the open position. Similarly, a trigger channel 222 is formed in the left cover 200 to correspond with and fully seat the trigger in its resting position.

In a first embodiment of the invention, best shown in FIG. 6, the lever channel 220 and the trigger channel 222 on the left cover 200 are of sufficient depth to entirely seat the lever 20 and trigger 22 within their respective channels, 220 and 222. In this embodiment, the surface of the right cover 100 which abuts the left cover 200 is flat.

In a second embodiment of the invention, corresponding channels 120 and 122, not shown, are formed into the right cover 100, which of course, must now be of greater thickness. Lever channel 120 matches up with lever channel 220 and trigger channel 122 matches up with trigger channel 222, such that, as left cover 200 and right cover 100 are brought together to surround trigger 22 and the open lever 20.

The hardened steel or steel alloy pins 400 are positioned around the trigger 22 and the open lever 20 to prevent attempts to disable the safety lock by use of a saw or other invasive device. As shown best in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, two pins are located behind the trigger 22, two are located under the open lever 20 and another pin 400 is located forward of the open lever. Of course, the location and number of pins is subject to the design preferences of the manufacturer of the safety lock. For example, a lever action firearm having greater forward movement of the lever may require more pins between the lever 20 and the trigger 22.

Accordingly, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention herein described are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Reference herein to details of the illustrated embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims, which themselves recite those features regarded as essential to the invention. 

1. A safety lock device for a lever action firearm, the firearm having a trigger and a moveable lever moveable to an open position for ejecting spent cartridges from and for allowing the insertion of a new cartridge into a receiver end of a barrel of the lever action firearm, comprising: a) a right cover element in abutment with a right hardened plate; b) a left cover element in abutment with a left hardened plate; at least one of the right cover element and the left cover element having a lever channel and a trigger channel formed therein; c) a plurality of pins to align the right cover element, the right hardened plate, with the left cover element, the left hardened plate; and d) a locking means to insure the secure attachment of the left cover element, the left hardened plate to the right cover element, and the right hardened plate with the trigger and the moveable lever of the lever action firearm in the open position aligned within their respective trigger channel and lever channel.
 2. The safety lock device of claim 1 wherein the locking means are selected from the group consisting of ratchet locks, “T” headed locks installed on the end of a shaft, cam locks and plunger locks.
 3. The safety lock device of claim 2 wherein the locking means is a “T” headed lock.
 4. The safety lock device of claim 1, wherein the left and right hardened plates consist of a hardened metal alloy.
 5. The safety lock device of claim 4, wherein the hardened metal alloy is hardened steel of sufficient strength to prevent the disabling of the safety lock device by a disabling implement.
 6. The safety lock device of claim 5 wherein the disabling implement is a saw.
 7. The safety lock device of claim 1 wherein the pins consist of a hardened metal alloy.
 8. The safety lock device of claim 7 wherein the hardened metal alloy is hardened steel of sufficient strength to prevent the disabling of the safety lock device by a disabling implement.
 9. The safety lock device of claim 8 wherein the disabling implement is a saw.
 10. The safety lock device of claim 1 wherein the trigger channel and the lever channel are located within the left cover element.
 11. The safety lock device of claim 1 wherein the trigger channel and the lever channel are located within the right cover element.
 12. The safety lock device of claim 1 wherein the trigger channel and the lever channel are located in both the right cover element and the left cover element such that the channels are aligned with each other to receive their respective trigger and open lever.
 13. The safety lock device of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of pins has a diameter.
 14. The safety lock device of claim 13 wherein the combined diameters of the plurality of pins is approximately less that 10% of a surface area of one of the left or right hardened metal plates.
 15. The safety lock device of claim 1, wherein the right cover element is over-molded over the right hardened plate. 